Systems and methods for remotely controlling a surgical instrument of console-based surgical systems

ABSTRACT

A surgical system and a method of operating a surgical system are disclosed herein. The surgical system comprises a surgical console, a control device, and a dongle. The surgical console operates a surgical device and comprises a connection port. The control device communicates with the surgical console to remotely control the surgical device. The dongle physically couples to the connection port of the surgical console. The control device comprises a first communication device and a radio frequency (RF) reader, and the dongle comprises a second communication device and a passive RF device. The RF reader receives the pairing information from the passive RF device in response to the passive RF device being with a threshold proximity of the RF reader. The first and second communication devices wirelessly connect based on the pairing information, enabling the control device to wirelessly communicate with the surgical console to remotely control the surgical device.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is the National Stage of International PatentApplication No. PCT/US2019/021128, filed on Mar. 7, 2019, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,774, filedon Mar. 9, 2018, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND

Console-based surgical systems include a surgical console havingsurgical devices and control devices (e.g., footswitches orhandswitches) connected thereto. The surgical devices can be controlledby the control devices through the console. Conventionally, such controldevices are physically and directly connected to the console. Forexample, the control device may include a hard-wired cable and aconnector that plugs into the console, thereby allowing the controldevice to control the surgical device. In such configurations, presenceof the cable clutters the operating room or causes a tripping hazard.Moreover, cable management before, during and after any operationrequires more time from healthcare personal.

Attempts have been made to control the surgical devices through theconsole using wireless communication between the control device and theconsole. Typically, such configurations require a manual and complexpairing process to exchange pairing data between the control device andthe console. Such manual pairing requires much time and effort toinitiate and execute. For example, identifying and selecting thecorresponding device for pairing can be a burdensome process,particularly considering that many other wireless devices are presentand discoverable in the local area. Human involvement is needed toselect the specific device from all the available devices within range.Manual pairing requires manual entry of verification data for one ormore of the devices. Once the device with a specific ID is found, theprocess may request various security specific data from the devices toauthenticate before enabling pairing to exchange the data. Moreover,even if identified and selected, the devices may fail to pair because oftechnical difficulties associated with manual pairing. The typicalmanual and complex pairing process involved with wireless communicationis not user-friendly and discourages healthcare professionals from usingwireless communication between the control device and console.

In some instances, wireless devices may be hard-paired, such that onedevice is preconfigured to wirelessly communicate solely with aspecified device, and vice-versa. One problem with such an approachrelates to inventory. In large healthcare facilities, for example,surgical system devices are often mixed and matched, as required bydemand in the facility. Hard-paired devices must remain together ininventory to provide utility. If one of the devices is separated andmixed with another system, both devices become inoperable.

Therefore, there remains a need in the art to address at least theaforementioned problems related to wireless communication betweensurgical consoles and control devices.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One example surgical system is provided. The surgical system comprises asurgical console, a control device, and a dongle. The surgical consoleoperates a surgical device and comprises a connection port. The controldevice communicates with the surgical console to remotely control thesurgical device. The dongle physically couples to the connection port ofthe surgical console. The control device comprises a first communicationdevice and a radio frequency (RF) reader and the dongle comprises asecond communication device and a passive RF device. The RF readerreceives the pairing information from the passive RF device in responseto the passive RF device being within a threshold proximity of the RFreader. The first and second communication devices wirelessly connectbased on the pairing information, enabling the control device towirelessly communicate with the surgical console to remotely control thesurgical device.

One potential implementation of a method of operating a surgical systemis provided. The surgical system comprises a surgical console configuredto operate a surgical device, the surgical console comprising aconnection port. The surgical system also comprises a control device anda dongle. The control device communicates with the surgical console toremotely control the surgical device, the control device comprising afirst communication device and an RF reader. The dongle comprises asecond communication device and a passive RF device. The method ofoperating the surgical system includes a step of establishing athreshold proximity between the passive RF device of the dongle and RFreader of the control device; a step of receiving, with the RF reader ofthe control device, pairing information from the passive RF device ofthe dongle in response to the passive RF device and the RF reader beingwithin the threshold proximity; a step of physically coupling the dongleto the connection port of the surgical console; a step of establishing awireless connection between the first and second communication devicesbased on the pairing information; and a step of remotely and wirelesslycontrolling the surgical device with the control device using thewireless connection.

An example surgical system is provided. The surgical system comprises asurgical console, a control device, a first dongle, and a second dongle.The surgical console operates a surgical device and comprises aconnection port. The control device communicates with the surgicalconsole to remotely control the surgical device. The first donglecomprises a first communication device and a passive RF device and thesecond dongle includes a second communication device and an RF reader.One of the first and second dongles physically couples to the connectionport of the surgical console and the other one of the first and seconddongles physically couples to the connection port of the control device.The RF reader receives the pairing information from the passive RFdevice in response to the passive RF device being within a thresholdproximity of the RF reader. The first and second communication deviceswirelessly connect based on the pairing information, enabling thecontrol device to wirelessly communicate with the surgical console toremotely control the surgical device.

One example dongle for a surgical system is provided. The surgicalsystem comprises a surgical console configured to operate a surgicaldevice, the surgical console comprising a connection port. The surgicalsystem also comprises a control device configured to communicate withthe surgical console to remotely control the surgical device, thecontrol device comprising a communication device and an RF reader. Thedongle comprises a coupling interface, a passive RF device and acommunication device. The coupling interface physically couples thedongle to the connection port of the surgical console. The passive RFdevice is configured to transmit pairing information to the RF reader ofthe control device in response to the passive RF device being within athreshold proximity of the RF reader. The communication device of thedongle is configured to wirelessly connect to the communication deviceof the control device based on the pairing information to enablewireless communication between the control device and the surgicalconsole to remotely control the surgical device.

One example communication system for a surgical system is provided. Thesurgical system comprises a surgical console and a control device. Thesurgical console operates a surgical device and comprises a connectionport. The control device communicates with the surgical console toremotely control the surgical device and comprises a connection port.The communication system comprises a first dongle and a second dongle.The first dongle comprises a first coupling interface configured tophysically couple to the connection port of one of the surgical consoleand the control device, an RF reader, and a first communication device.The second dongle comprises a second coupling interface, a passive RFdevice, and a second communication device. The second coupling interfaceis configured to physically couple to the connection port of the otherone of the surgical console and the control device, which is notphysically coupled to the first coupling interface. The passive RFdevice transmits pairing information to the RF reader of the firstdongle in response to the passive RF device and the RF reader beingwithin a threshold proximity to one another. The second communicationdevice wirelessly connects to the first communication device of thefirst dongle based on the pairing information to thereby enable thecontrol device to wirelessly communicate with the surgical console toremotely control the surgical device.

Advantages of the surgical systems, methods, dongles, and communicationsystems will be readily appreciated from the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings, example illustrations are shown indetail. Although the drawings represent examples, the drawings are notnecessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated orschematic in form to better illustrate and explain a particular aspectof an illustrative example. Any one or more of these aspects can be usedalone or in combination with one another. Further, the exampleillustrations described herein are not intended to be exhaustive orotherwise limiting or restricting to the precise form and configurationshown in the drawings and disclosed in the following detaileddescription. Example illustrations are described in detail by referringto the drawings as follows:

FIG. 1A is an assembly view of an example surgical system comprising asurgical console, a plurality of surgical instruments, a plurality ofdongles for connecting to the surgical console, and a plurality ofcontrol devices;

FIG. 1B is an assembly view of another example surgical systemcomprising a surgical console, a plurality of surgical instruments, aplurality of (first) dongles for connecting to the surgical console, aplurality of control devices, and a plurality of (second) dongles forconnecting to the control devices;

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of aspects of the surgical system ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of aspects of the surgical system ofFIG. 1B;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of example components of the first dongle;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of example components of the second dongle;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method of operating a surgical system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1A, one example surgical system 100 is shown. Asshown, the surgical system 100 includes a surgical console 102, which isconfigured to operate a surgical device 110. The surgical device 110 maybe one of many surgical devices, such as those illustrated as surgicaldevices 112, 114, 116 in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Examples of the surgicaldevice 110 are explained in detail below.

The surgical system 100 also includes a control device 120. Controldevices 120 may be configured to communicate with the surgical console102 to remotely control surgical devices 110. In one example, thecontrol devices 120 include a foot-operable control device 122 as shownin FIG. 1A (the foot-operable control device referred to herein as a“footswitch”). In another example, the control devices 120 include ahand-operable control device 124, as shown in FIG. 1A (the hand-operablecontrol device referred to herein as a “handswitch”).

Furthermore, the surgical system 100 may include a dongle 130,illustrated as dongles 132, 134. Dongles 130 may be configured tophysically couple to a dongle connection port 140 of the surgicalconsole 102, illustrated as connection ports 142, 144. As shown in FIG.1A, control devices 120 and dongles 130 wirelessly connect, allowing thecontrol devices 120 to wirelessly communicate with the surgical console102 to remotely control the surgical devices 110.

Referring to FIG. 1B, another example surgical system 100 is shown.Similar to the surgical system 100 in FIG. 1A, the surgical system 100in FIG. 1B includes the surgical console 102, which is configured tooperate surgical devices 110. However, the example shown in FIG. 1Bincludes two types of dongles, i.e., first dongles 160 and seconddongles 170. The first dongles 160 are illustrated as first dongles 162,164, and the second dongles 170 are illustrated as second dongles 172,174. The control devices 120′ are illustrated as footswitch 122′ andhandswitch 124′.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the first dongles 160 may physically couple todongle connection ports 140 of the surgical console 102. The seconddongles 170 physically couple to dongle connection ports 180 of thecontrol devices 120′, illustrated as dongle connection ports 182, 184.As shown, the first dongles 160 and the second dongles 170 wirelesslyconnect, allowing the control devices 120′ to wirelessly communicatewith the surgical console 102 to remotely control the surgical devices110.

In some instances, the dongles 130 and the first dongles 160 may beincluded within the surgical console 102. Such an instance is furtherdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,150 B2, entitled “Apparatus and Methodfor Synchronizing a Wireless Remote Control to a Central Control Unit soas to Allow Remote Control of a Medical Device over a Secure WirelessConnection,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety. As such, dongles 130 need not be physically coupled tothe dongle connection ports 140 to connect to control devices 120.Similarly, the first dongles 160 need not be physically coupled to thedongle connection ports 180 to connect to the second dongles 170.

Herein, components of the surgical systems 100 in FIGS. 1A and 1B may bereferred to generically or specifically. For example, “surgical devices110” may be interpreted as a generic categorization of the specificsurgical devices 112, 114, 116. However, the term “surgical devices 110”herein refers to any number of surgical devices and any surgical devicethat may be operated by the surgical console. In contrast, “surgicaldevices 112, 114, 116” refer to the surgical devices shown in FIGS. 1Aand 1B. Similarly, other components of the surgical systems 110 in FIGS.1A and 1B may be referred to generically or specifically.

As shown, the example surgical system 100 in FIG. 1A includes one typeof dongle, the dongles 130. As such, the example surgical system 100 inFIG. 1A may be referred to herein as a “single-dongle example”. Incontrast, the example surgical system 100 in FIG. 1B includes two typesof dongles, the first dongles 160 and the second dongles 170. As such,the example surgical system 100 in FIG. 2 may be referred to herein as a“double-dongle example”. It should be noted that the use of the words“single” and “double” refer to a number of dongle types in each exampleand not necessarily to a total number of dongles in each example.

As utilized herein, the term “dongle” refers to an auxiliary productthat can be inserted into, or otherwise physically coupled to, a host(client or parent) device, such as the surgical console 102 or thecontrol device 120′. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, thedongles 130, 160, 170 enable the control devices 120, 120′ to wirelesslyconnect to the surgical console 102 and control the surgical devices110. In one example, the dongles 130, 160, 170 are pocket-sized externalhardware devices that are distinct from the surgical console 102 or thecontrol device 120′. Hardware and software architecture of the dongles130, 160, 170 is further described below.

The dongles 130, 160, 170 are provided on-premises at a location of thesurgical console 102 or the control device 120′. In other words, thedongles 130, 160, 170 are located at the same location as the surgicalconsole 102 or the control device 120′, rather than being remotelylocated, e.g., across a network. For example, where the surgical console102 and the control device 120′ are located at a surgical site or in anoperating room, the dongles 130, 160, 170 are also located at thesurgical site or in the operating room. In more specific examples wherethe control device 120′ is located in a sterile field and the surgicalconsole 102 is located in a non-sterile field, the dongle 170 is locatedin the sterile field and dongles 130, 160 are located in the non-sterilefield. As will be understood by the description and examples herein, thedongles 130, 160, 170 are provided on-premises relative to the locationof the surgical console 102 or the control device 120′ because, in part,dongles 130, 160, 170 and the surgical console 102 or the control device120′ must be physically coupled to each other using dongle connectionports 140, 180.

In some examples, the dongles 130, 160, 170 may include a cable. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1B, the second dongles 172, 174 include acable and a dongle coupling interface 372, 374 for physically couplingto the control device 120′. The cable may be of any appropriate lengthand may be provided for convenience of physically coupling the dongles130, 160, 170 to the surgical console 102 or to the control device 120′.Where present, the cable preferably has a short length to avoidobstruction in the operating room.

Furthermore, in the single-dongle example, dongles 130 are not specificto control devices 120. In other words, any dongle 130 may be wirelesslyconnected to any control device 120. For example, in FIG. 1A, thecontrol device 122 is wirelessly connected to the dongle 132 and thecontrol device 124 is wirelessly connected to the dongle 134. However,in another instance of the single-dongle example, the control device 122may be wirelessly connected to the dongle 134 and the control device 124may be wirelessly connected to the dongle 132.

Similarly, in the double-dongle example, the first dongles 160 and thesecond dongles 170 are not specific to one another. In other words, anyfirst dongle 160 may be wirelessly connected to any second dongle 170.For example, in FIG. 1B, the first dongle 162 is wirelessly connected tothe second dongle 172 and the first dongle 164 is wirelessly connectedto the second dongle 174. However, in another instance of thedouble-dongle example, the first dongle 162 may be wirelessly connectedto the second dongle 174 and the first dongle 164 may be wirelesslyconnected to the second dongle 172. Thus, the dongles 130, 160, 170provide universality and flexibility to establish wireless communicationbetween the control device 120 and the surgical console 102.

It should be noted that the surgical console 102 may be of any suitableshape and size and may include components not shown in FIGS. 1A and 1Bor described herein. For example, the surgical console 102 may includedisplays for displaying information from the surgical devices 110. Inyet another example, the surgical console 102 may include visualindicators to indicate successful connection of the surgical devices 110and/or the dongles 130, 160, 170 and to indicate which control devices120, 120′ are controlling which surgical devices 110. The surgicalconsole 102 may be stationary or mobile. The surgical console 102 may beany other device, such as a robotic manipulator, configured to enablecontrol devices 120 to control surgical devices 110 coupled thereto. Thesurgical console 102 may be one of a variety of surgical consoles 102.For example, the surgical console 102 may be configured to providecapabilities for ultrasonic aspiration, suction, irrigation, RF ablationor lesioning, drilling, sawing, cutting, milling, imaging, and the like.

The surgical systems 100 may include any suitable number of surgicaldevices 110, dongles 130, 160, 170, and control devices 120, 120′ otherthan the number shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

In the example surgical systems 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, threeexamples of the surgical devices 110 are provided for illustrativepurposes. The illustrated shapes and other structural features ofsurgical devices 112, 114, 116 as depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B are notintended to describe the surgical devices 110 specifically but ratherare intended only to convey the general concept that various surgicaldevices 110 may be used.

The surgical devices 110 may be operated by the surgical console 102 toperform one or more predetermined functions in the treatment or care ofa patient. For example, one or more of the surgical devices 110 mayinclude a specialty drill, a high-powered tapered drill, a modularhandpiece, a high-speed pencil-grip drill, a pneumatic drill, a drillfor intraoperative procedures, a drill for oral surgery, a drill for ENTsurgery, a sagittal, oscillating or a reciprocating saw, amicrodebrider, an ultrasonic aspirator, electrodes, probes, or anyhand-held imaging device, such as an endoscope or camera, and the like.

Electrosurgical devices, ultrasound devices, and other surgical devices110 may also be employed. Electrosurgical instruments may be of anysuitable type, including those that use diathermy with either unipolaror bipolar current (commonly referred to simply as unipolar devices andbipolar devices), and advanced devices such as harmonic scissors andargon beam and laser devices. As another example, surgical devices 110that are not handheld, such as surgical robots, hospital beds, lightingsystems, and cameras, may also be employed.

The various surgical devices 110 may be produced by differentmanufacturers or be different versions or models of a surgical device110. Regardless of any such differences, the surgical console 102enables the control devices 120 to control the surgical devices 110.

Although the surgical devices 110 in FIGS. 1A and 1B are physicallycoupled to the surgical console 102 via a cable and a connector, thesurgical devices 110 may be wirelessly connected to the surgical console102. For example, the surgical devices 110 may be wirelessly connectedto the surgical console 102 using dongles similar to the dongles 130,160, 170 described herein.

Additionally, while surgical devices 110 are emphasized in thisdisclosure, other types of medical devices may also be used in placethereof. For example, suitable medical devices that could be used inconjunction with the surgical console 102 include, but are not limitedto, patient therapy devices, patient monitoring devices, temperaturemanagement systems, respirators, IV systems, battery management systems,robotic devices, heart rate monitors, or any other medical device thatmay be used in medical procedures or in the provision of medicalservices to patients. As such, the term “surgical device” may beinterchanged with these medical devices throughout this disclosure.

As described, the control devices 120, 120′ may be foot-operable controldevices. For example, in the examples of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the controldevices 120, 120′ are illustrated using the footswitch 122 andhandswitch 124, respectively. The control devices 120, 120′ may includevarious different configurations to enable an operator to remotelycontrol the surgical devices 110. The control devices 120, 120′ mayinclude one or more sensors, such as Hall Effect sensors, magneticsensors, load cells, pressure sensors, image sensors, inclinometers, orother sensors suitable for generating signals in response to adepression of the footswitch or handswitch.

In other examples, the control devices 120, 120′ include hand-operablecontrol (referred to herein as “handswitches”), voice-actuated control,knee-operated control, gesture-control, augmented/mixed reality control,and other types of control that may be actuated by a user and may besuitable for controlling a surgical device 110. In such examples, thecontrol devices 120, 120′ may include one or more of the describedsensors to generate signals in response to an action of a user of thecontrol devices 120, 120′.

In still other examples, the control devices 120, 120′ include a mobilecomputing device. Such mobile computing devices may include cellularphones, smart phones, laptops, tablets, wearable remote devices, or anyother mobile computing device that is suitable for controlling asurgical device 110. For example, the control device 120, 120′ may be atablet customized for surgical applications and including a touchscreen.In such an example, a user of the tablet may operate a surgical device110 by touching portions of the touchscreen and selecting commands forthe surgical device 110.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the surgical devices 110 may be physicallycoupled to the surgical console 102 via surgical device connection ports150, illustrated as connection ports 152, 154, 156. As shown, surgicaldevice 112 physically couples to the surgical console 102 via theconnection port 152. Likewise, surgical devices 114, 116 physicallycouple to the surgical console 102 via the connection ports 154, 156,respectively. In some examples, the surgical console 102 includes adifferent number of surgical device connection ports 150. For example,the surgical console 102 may include one, two, four, or any number ofsurgical device connection ports 150, which may be positioned on anysuitable portion of the surgical console 102. Furthermore, in exampleswhere the surgical console 102 does not include surgical deviceconnection ports 150, the surgical devices 110 may be directly coupledto the surgical console 102, without use of surgical device connectionports 150. For example, a cable may be integrally connected to thesurgical console 102 and the surgical device 110 may connect to a distalconnector port of the cable. Alternatively, the surgical console 102 maynot include surgical device connection ports 150 where the surgicaldevices 110 are wirelessly controlled by the surgical console 102.

As also shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, dongles 130, 160 may be physicallycoupled to the surgical console 102 via dongle connection ports 140, andthe second dongles 170 may be physically coupled to the control device120′ via dongle connection ports 180. More specifically stated, donglecoupling interfaces 330, illustrated as dongle coupling interfaces 332,334, may be configured to physically couple to the dongle connectionports 140. Similarly, dongle coupling interfaces 360, illustrated asdongle coupling interfaces 362, 364, of the first dongles 160 may beconfigured to physically couple to the dongle connection ports 140.Dongle coupling interfaces 370, illustrated as dongle couplinginterfaces 372, 374 of the second dongles 170 may be configured tophysically couple to the dongle connection ports 180. For example, thedongle coupling interface 332 of the dongle 132 of the single-dongleexample (FIG. 1A) may physically couple to the dongle connection port142 of the surgical console 102. Similarly, dongle coupling interface374 of the second dongle 174 of the double-dongle example (FIG. 1B) mayphysically couple to the dongle connection port 184 of the controldevice 120′. As such, when the dongles 130, 160, 170 are inserted intothe surgical console 102 or the control device 120′, the dongle couplinginterfaces 330, 360, 370 are inserted into the dongle connection ports140, 180.

The dongle coupling interfaces 330, 360, 370 are configured tomechanically and electrically couple the dongles 130, 160, 170 to therespective host device, i.e., console 102 or control device 120. Thedongle coupling interfaces 330, 360, 370 may have any configuration thatis configured to securely fit into the connection port 140, 180 of thehost device. As such, this mechanical fit secures the dongle 130, 160,170 to the host device. The dongle coupling interfaces 330, 360, 370 areconductive and enable electrical transmission of communication and powersignals between the dongles 130, 160, 170 and the host device. Thedongle coupling interfaces 330, 360, 370 may be specifically shaped forthe host device, may be one-size-fits all or universally adaptable toconnect to any host device.

During hard-wired operation, the control device 120, 120′ may connect tothe connection ports 140 of the surgical console 102 using a cable andconnector. The connector of the cable inserts into the connection port140. The same connection ports 140 that receive this hard-wired cableconnector may also be configured to receive the dongle couplinginterfaces 330, 360, 370 of the dongles 130, 160, 170. Thus, in view ofthe techniques described herein, the cable and connector of the controldevices 120, 120′ are replaced with the dongles 130, 160, 170, therebyeliminating the need for cable connection between the control device120, 120′ and the surgical console 102.

In some examples, the surgical console 102 and the control device 120′include a different number of dongle connection ports 140, 180,respectively. For example, the surgical console 102 may include one,two, four, or any number of dongle connection ports 140, which may bepositioned on any suitable portion of the surgical console 102.Similarly, the control device 120′ may include one, two, four, or anynumber of dongle connection ports 180, which may be positioned on anysuitable portion of the control device 120′.

Connection ports 142, 144 of the surgical console 102 for the dongles130, 160, 170 may have similar or different physical connectioninterfaces from one another. Connection ports 152, 154, 156 of thesurgical console 102 for the surgical devices 110 may have similar ordifferent physical connection interfaces from one another. Similarlyconnection ports 182, 184 of the surgical console 102 for the first andsecond dongles 160, 170 may have similar or different physicalconnection interfaces from one another. Moreover, connection ports 142,144 for the dongles 130, 160, 170 and connection ports 182, 184 for thefirst and second dongles 160, 170 may have similar or different physicalconnection interfaces from the connection ports 152, 154, 156 for thesurgical devices 110. For example, the dongles 130, 160, 170 andsurgical devices 110 may interchangeably connect to any of theconnection ports 140, 150. In other words, the connection ports 140, 150may receive the connector of the surgical devices 110 and/or the donglecoupling interfaces 330, 360, 370 of the dongles 130, 160, 170.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system block diagram of components of the surgicalsystem 100 of FIG. 1A, and more specifically, the control device 120 ofthe single-dongle example shown in FIG. 1A. As shown, the control device120 includes a first communication device 202 and a radio frequency (RF)reader 204. The RF reader 204 may be configured to receive pairinginformation via RF signals. The first communication device 202 may beconfigured to wirelessly connect to a device based on the pairinginformation received by the RF reader 204.

The first communication device 202 and the RF reader 204 may beintegrated within the control device 120. In one such example, thecontrol device 120 includes a housing 190, illustrated as housings 192,194 in FIG. 1A, and the first communication device 202 and the RF reader204 may be integrated within the housing.

As shown, the dongle 130 includes a second communication device 252 anda passive RF device 254. The passive RF device 254 may be configured totransmit the pairing information via RF signals to the RF reader 204 inresponse to the passive RF device 254 being within a threshold proximityof the RF reader 204. The second communication device 252 may beconfigured to wirelessly connect to a device based on the pairinginformation transmitted by the passive RF device 254.

By design, the passive RF device 254 may be configured to transmitinformation via RF signals after the passive RF device 254 is powered byRF signals from RF reader 204. The RF signals from the RF reader 204power the passive RF device 254, enabling the passive RF device 254 totransmit the pairing information via RF signals back to the RF reader204. In one example, the passive RF device 254 may be a passive RF tag.However, it has been contemplated that the passive RF device 254 may bereplaced with other types of RF devices. For instance, the passive RFdevice 254 may be replaced with an RF device which may be poweredinternally, such as a battery-assisted RF tag or an active RF tag.

Furthermore, the passive RF device 254 may be configured to transmit thepairing information using RF signals using a frequency defined between30 kHz and 30 MHz, 400 MHz and 450 MHz, or 860 MHz and 960 MHz.Accordingly, the RF reader 204 of the control device 120 may beconfigured to receive RF signals with a frequency defined between 30 kHzand 30 MHz, 400 MHz and 450 MHz, or 860 MHz and 960 MHz. Depending on anapplication of the surgical system 100, it may be advantageous totransmit the pairing information using RF signals with a frequencydefined between each of the identified frequency ranges. For example, RFsignals with a frequency defined between 30 kHz and 30 MHz have a longerwavelength than RF signals with a frequency defined between 400 MHz and450 MHz or 860 MHz and 960 MHz. As such, RF signals with a frequencydefined between 30 kHz and 30 MHz are able to penetrate metallicsubstances and liquids more effectively, but have a more limited readrange than RF signals with a frequency defined between 400 MHz and 450MHz or 860 MHz and 960 MHz. Other frequency ranges other than thosedescribed herein are possible to operate the passive RF device 254.

Additionally, the RF reader 204 of the control device 120 may beconfigured to receive the pairing information from the passive RF device254 in response to the passive RF device 254 being within the thresholdproximity of the RF reader 204, as shown in FIG. 2 . As such, thepassive RF device 254 receives RF signals which are transmitted by theRF reader 204. The RF signals transmitted by the RF reader 204 power thepassive RF device 254, enabling the passive RF device 254 to transmitthe pairing information to the RF reader 204 via RF signals.

After the RF reader 204 receives the pairing information, the first andsecond communication devices 202, 252 may be configured to wirelesslyconnect based on the pairing information. Thus, the first communicationdevice 202 may be configured to transmit control data to the secondcommunication device 252, enabling the control device 120 to wirelesslycommunicate with the surgical console 102 to remotely control thesurgical devices 110.

It should be noted that the first and second communication devices 202,252 in FIG. 2 may use any communication network or protocol suitable forcommunicating control signals wirelessly. For example, the first andsecond communication devices 202, 252 may use WiFi, Infrared, ZigBee,radio waves, cellular signals, any other suitable wireless network, orcombinations thereof to communicate wirelessly. It should also be notedthat the communication network used by the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252 may differ from the RF signals used bythe passive RF device 254 and the RF reader 204.

The first and second communication devices 202, 252 are configured tooperate on a frequency or range that is dictated by the designedcommunication network or protocol. For example, where the first andsecond communication devices 202, 252 use Bluetooth for wirelesscommunication, the first and second communication devices 202, 252 maybe configured to operate on a frequency between 2.4 and 2.485 GHz.Furthermore, as previously stated, the communication network used by thefirst and second communication devices 202, 252 may differ from the RFsignals used by the passive RF device 254 and the RF reader 204.However, the first and second communication devices 202, 252 may beconfigured to operate on a frequency which may overlap or be greaterthan a frequency of operation of the passive RF device 254 and the RFreader 204. For instance, as previously stated, the passive RF device254 and the RF reader 204 may be configured to transmit and receive RFsignals with a frequency defined between 30 kHz and 30 MHz, 400 MHz and450 MHz, or 860 MHz and 960 MHz. In one example, the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252 may be configured to operate on afrequency which overlaps the above-stated frequencies, or on a frequencygreater than 1 GHz.

In some examples, the first and second communication devices 202, 252are transceivers. For example, each of the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252 is capable of receiving and transmittingcontrol data. In another example, the first and second communicationdevices 202, 252 are different communication devices and may beconfigured to perform different tasks. For instance, the firstcommunication device 202 may be a dedicated transmitter configured totransmit control data, while the second communication device 252 may bea dedicated receiver configured to receive control data.

The pairing information transmitted by the passive RF device 254 of thedongle 130 and received by the RF reader 204 of the control device 120may include a unique identification of the dongle 130. The pairinginformation may also include communication parameters associated withthe dongle 130. For example, the communication parameters associatedwith the dongle 130 may include a bits-per-character, a bits-per-second,a baud rate, parity bits, and start, stop, and mark bits. In otherexamples, the pairing information includes other communicationparameters. For instance, the pairing information may includecommunication parameters which may be specific to Bluetooth, WiFi,Infrared, ZigBee, radio waves, cellular signals, or any othercommunication network which the first communication device 202 or thesecond communication device 252 may use to wirelessly communicate withanother device.

In some examples, the pairing information transmitted by the passive RFdevice 254 of the dongle 130 and received by the RF reader 204 of thecontrol device 120 are encrypted by the dongle 130 and decrypted by thecontrol device 120. Similarly, the control data transmitted by the firstcommunication device 202 of the control device 120 and received by thesecond communication device 252 of the dongle 130 may be encrypted bythe control device 120 and decrypted by the dongle 130. As such, byencrypting and decrypting the pairing information and the control data,the surgical system 100 allows for increased security of the pairinginformation and the control data. Additionally, the surgical system 100may ensure that control devices 120 control a correct surgical device110. Similarly, the surgical system 100 may ensure that surgical devices110 are controlled by a correct control device 120.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 , the dongle 130 may include a connectoridentifier 262. The connector identifier 262 is configured to determinea type of communication protocol used by the surgical console 102. Aspreviously stated, the surgical console 102, to which the dongle 130physically couples, may include a variety of surgical consoles 102,which may receive and transmit data using a variety of communicationprotocols. For example, the surgical console 102 may use UART, I²C, CAN,1-Wire, SPI, USB, UNI/O, or any other suitable communication protocol toreceive and transmit data. As such, the connector identifier 262determines the type of communication protocol used by the surgicalconsole 102.

The dongle 130 may also include an adaptive connector 264. After theconnector identifier 262 determines the type of communication protocolused by the surgical console 102, the adaptive connector 264 enables thedongle 130 to communicate with the surgical console 102 based on thecommunication protocol used by the surgical console 102. For example,the surgical console 102 may use UART as the communication protocol toreceive and transmit data. As such, after the connector identifier 262determines that the surgical console 102 uses UART to receive andtransmit data, the adaptive connector 264 ensures that the dongle 130communicates with the surgical console 102 using UART after the donglecoupling interface 330 of the dongle 130 is physically coupled to thedongle connection port 140 of the surgical console 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system block diagram of the surgical system 100 inFIG. 1B, and more specifically, components of the first dongle 160 andthe second dongle 170 of the double-dongle example shown in FIG. 1B. Asshown in FIG. 3 , the first dongle 160 includes the described secondcommunication device 252 and the described passive RF device 254. Thesecond dongle 170 includes the described first communication device 202and the described RF reader 204. In the double-dongle example, the RFreader 204 of the second dongle 170 receives the pairing informationfrom the passive RF device 254 of the first dongle 160. The firstcommunication device 202 of the second dongle 170 then wirelesslyconnects to the second communication device 252 of the first dongle 160.As such, the control device 120′ wirelessly communicates with thesurgical console 102 to remotely control the surgical devices 110.

It should be noted that, while the first dongle 160 is coupled to thesurgical console 102 in FIGS. 1B and 3 , the first dongle 160 may bephysically coupled to the surgical console 102 or to the control device120′. More specifically, the dongle coupling interface 360 of the firstdongle 160 may be physically coupled to the dongle connection port 140of the surgical console 102 or to the dongle connection port 180 of thecontrol device 120′. Similarly, while the second dongle 170 is coupledto the control device 120′ in FIGS. 1B and 3 , the second dongle 170 maybe physically coupled to the surgical console 102 or to the controldevice 120′. More specifically, the dongle coupling interface 370 of thesecond dongle 170 may be physically coupled to the dongle connectionport 140 of the surgical console 102 or to the dongle connection port180 of the control device 120′.

The arrangement of the first and second dongles 160, 170 may beinterchangeable with respect to what host device (e.g., surgical console102, control device 120′) the first and second dongles 160, 170 connect.Thus, one dongle 160, 170 connects to one host device 102, 120′ whilethe other dongle 160, 170 connects to the other host device 102, 120′.In other words, if the first dongle 160 is physically coupled to thesurgical console 102, then the second dongle 170 is physically coupledto the control device 120′. Similarly, if the first dongle 160 isphysically coupled to the control device 120′, then the second dongle170 is physically coupled to the surgical console 102.

Additionally, in the double-dongle example, the pairing information istransmitted by the passive RF device 254 of the first dongle 160 andreceived by the RF reader 204 of the second dongle 170. As such, thepairing information may include a unique identification of the firstdongle 160, which includes the passive RF device 254. The pairinginformation may also include communication parameters associated withthe first dongle 160. As such, in the double-dongle example, the pairinginformation transmitted by the passive RF device 254 and received by theRF reader 204 may be encrypted by the first dongle 160 and decrypted bythe second dongle 170.

Furthermore, in the double-dongle example, the communication device 202,252 which is physically coupled to the control device 120′ transmits thecontrol data. The communication device 202, 252 which is physicallycoupled to the surgical console 102 receives the control data. As such,in an instance of the double-dongle example where the first dongle 160is coupled to the surgical console 102 and the second dongle 170 iscoupled to the control device 120′, the second dongle 170 encrypts thecontrol data and the first dongle 160 decrypts the control data. In aninstance of the double-dongle example where the second dongle 170 iscoupled to the surgical console 102 and the first dongle 160 is coupledto the control device 120′, the first dongle 160 encrypts the controldata and the second dongle 170 decrypts the control data.

Also shown in FIG. 3 , the first dongle 160 and the second dongle 170may each include the adaptive connector 264 and the connector identifier262. As previously stated, the first and second dongles 160, 170 mayphysically couple to the control device 120′ and to the surgical console102. Also previously stated, the control device 120′ may be a variety ofcontrol devices and the surgical console 102 may be a variety ofsurgical consoles. Furthermore, the variety of control devices and thevariety of surgical consoles may use different communication protocolsto receive and transmit data. As such, the connector identifiers 262 ofthe first and second dongles 160, 170 determine the communicationprotocols used by the control device 120′ and the surgical console 102.Thus, the adaptive connectors 264 of the first and second dongles 160,170 enable the first and second dongles 160, 170 to communicate with thecontrol device 120′ and with the surgical console 102 based on thecommunication protocols. This further adds to the universality andadaptability of the double-dongle configuration.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an example system architecture of the firstdongle 160 and the second dongle 170, respectively, of the double-dongleexample. Furthermore, for simplicity, while dongle 130 of thesingle-dongle example is not shown, it is contemplated that the seconddongle 170 is similar to dongle 130. For example, both the dongle 130and the second dongle 170 include the first communication device 202,the RF reader 204, the connector identifier 262, and the adaptiveconnector 264. However, while the second dongle 170 may be physicallycoupled to the surgical console 102 or the control device 120′, thedongle 130 may be physically coupled to the control device 120. As such,any components of the second dongle 170 shown in FIG. 5 and describedherein may be applied to the dongle 130.

It should again be noted that, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first andsecond dongles 160, 170 may be physically coupled to the surgicalconsole 102 or to the control device 120′. However, while the first andsecond dongles 160, 170 may be physically coupled to the surgicalconsole 102 or to the control device 120′, when the first dongle 160 orthe second dongle 170 is physically coupled to the dongle connectionport 140 of the surgical console 102, the other of the first dongle 160or the second dongle 170 is physically coupled to the dongle connectionport 180 of the control device 120′. Therefore, if the first dongle 160is physically coupled to the surgical console 102, then the seconddongle 170 is physically coupled to the control device 120′. Similarly,if the first dongle 160 is physically coupled to the control device120′, then the second dongle 170 is physically coupled to the surgicalconsole 102.

In FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first and second communication devices 202, 252are Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC) integrated circuits. As shown,the PSoC integrated circuits include a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) engine291 and a BLE antenna 292. As such, the PSoC integrated circuit maycommunicate wirelessly with other devices using Bluetooth. Furthermore,the PSoC integrated circuit includes a microcontroller 293, which maycontrol the BLE engine 291 and the BLE antenna 292 and other componentsof the PSoC integrated circuit. The microcontroller 293 may also controlinputs and outputs of the PSoC integrated circuit, which are shown inFIGS. 4 and 5 and described below. The PSoC integrated circuit alsoincludes a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus controller and driver 294,which allows the PSoC integrated circuit to receive and transmit CANmessages.

While the first and second communication devices 202, 252 areillustrated as PSoC integrated circuits, the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252 may be any other circuits suitable forwireless communication, such as ASIC, SOC, etc. In other examples, thefirst and second communication devices 202, 252 may be any devicecapable of wirelessly communicating with another device. In suchexamples, the first and second communication devices 202, 252 mayinclude a controller, or a controller may be coupled to the first andsecond communication devices 202, 252. Furthermore, while the PSoCintegrated circuits include the BLE engine 291 and the BLE antenna 292for communicating wirelessly with other devices using Bluetooth, thefirst and second communication devices 202, 252 may communicate withother devices using any other suitable wireless network, such as WiFi,Infrared, ZigBee, radio waves, cellular signals, or combinationsthereof.

Additionally, FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate that the first and second dongles160, 170 may be configured to receive power from the surgical console102 and the control device 120′. In some examples, the dongles 130, 160,170 do not include an internal power supply. As such, the dongles 130,160, 170 and some components thereof, such as the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252, may be powered by the surgical console102 through the dongle connection port 140 or by the control device 120′through the dongle connection port 180. In such examples, operation ofsome components of the dongles 130, 160, 170 may occur after the dongles130, 160, 170 are physically coupled to the surgical console 102 or thecontrol device 120′. For example, the second communication device 252 ofthe first dongle 160 may wirelessly connect to the first communicationdevice 202 of the second dongle 170 after the first dongle 160 isphysically coupled to the surgical console 102. In another example, thesecond communication device 252 of the dongle 130 may wirelessly connectto the first communication device 202 of the control device 120 afterthe dongle 130 is physically coupled to the surgical console 102.However, it should be noted that the passive RF device 254 of the dongle130 and the first dongle 160 may be powered by outside sources, such asthe RF reader 204, and may therefore operate before the dongle 130 orthe first dongle 160 are physically coupled.

FIGS. 4 and 5 also illustrate inputs and outputs of the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252 and other components of the first andsecond dongles 160, 170. As shown, the first and second communicationdevices 202, 252 and the adaptive connector 264 share digital I/Os, aswell as a UART/I²C/CAN bus 269 and a 1-Wire bus 268. As such, the firstand second communication devices 202, 252 may communicate with thesurgical console 102 and the control device 120′ using a variety of datatypes. For example, referring to FIG. 5 , the first communication device202 may communicate serial data with the RF reader 204 via a UART bus.In another example where the surgical console 102 communicates viaanalog data, the first and second communication devices 202, 252 areconfigured to transfer digital SPI bus data and digital control I/O datato the surgical console 102 by converting the digital SPI bus data andthe digital control I/O data to analog data using a 2-channel digital toanalog converter with amplifier 295 and transferring the data usingAnalog I/Os. Similarly, the first and second communication devices 202,252 are configured to receive analog data from the surgical console 102after the analog data has been converted to digital data using the2-channel digital to analog converter with amplifier 295. In one suchexample, where a battery life of the dongle 130, 160, 170 is received bythe surgical console 102 as analog data, the battery life is convertedand communicated from the first or second communication device 202, 252to the surgical console 102 via the 2-channel digital to analogconverter with amplifier 295.

It should be noted that the dongles 130, 160, 170 may include differentconnections than or may omit some of the connections shown in FIGS. 4and 5 . For example, the first or second communication device 202, 252may be an integrated circuit other than a PSoC integrated device. Assuch, the first or second communication devices 202, 252 may includeinputs and outputs that vary from the inputs and outputs of the firstand second communication devices 202, 252 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . Forinstance, if the first or second communication device 202, 252 is anintegrated circuit other than a PSoC integrated device, the 2-channeldigital to analog converter with amplifier 295 may not be required.Additionally, the UART/I²C/CAN bus 269 and the 1-Wire bus 268 may beomitted or replaced with a bus for a different communication protocol.

In FIGS. 4 and 5 , the adaptive connector 264 is coupled to aUART/I²C/CAN bus 269 and a 1-Wire bus 268. As such, the adaptiveconnector 264 in FIGS. 4 and 5 may enable the first and second dongles160, 170 to communicate with the surgical console 102 or the controldevice 120′ using UART, I²C, CAN, or 1-Wire. For example, the surgicalconsole 102 may use UART, I²C, CAN, 1-Wire, SPI, USB, UNI/O, or anyother suitable communication protocols. For example, the connectoridentifier 262 of the first dongle 160 determines that the communicationprotocol used by the surgical console 102 to receive and transmit datais 1-Wire. Accordingly, the adaptive connector 264 enables the firstdongle 160 to communicate with the surgical console 102 by transmittingdata to the surgical console 102 from the 1-Wire bus 268.

The adaptive connector 264 may also be configured to communicate usingcommunication protocols other than UART, I²C, CAN, and 1-Wire, such asSPI, USB, or UNI/O. For example, in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the adaptiveconnector 264 may be configured to communicate using USB. As such, thefirst and second dongles 160, 170 include a UART to USB converter 270.Furthermore, the first and second dongles 160, 170 may include aspecific bus for each communication protocol or may include a bus fordifferent groupings of communication protocols. For instance, the firstand second dongles 160, 170 may include a UART bus, an I²C bus, a CANbus, a UART/I²C bus, a UART/CAN bus, or an I²C/CAN bus instead of theUART/I²C/CAN bus 269.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first and second dongles160, 170 may include memory 266. In FIGS. 4 and 5 , the memory 266 iscoupled to the UART/I²C/CAN bus 269. It should be noted that the memory266 may be coupled to other components of the first and second dongles160, 170. For example, the memory 266 may be coupled to the digital I/Osof the first and second dongles 160, 170. Furthermore, the memory 266may be any memory suitable for storage of data and computer-readableinstructions. For example, the memory 266 may be a local memory or anexternal memory embodied as random access memory (RAM), non-volatile RAM(NVRAM), flash memory, or any other suitable form of memory.

In FIG. 4 , a 1-Wire device 267 is coupled to the second communicationdevice 252 and to the 1-Wire bus 268. In one example, the 1-Wire device267 may be a 1-Wire memory, such as local memory or an external memoryembodied as random access memory (RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., a1-Wire EEPROM or a 1-Wire NVSRAM), flash memory, or any other suitableform of memory. The 1-Wire memory may be configured to store aconfiguration of the surgical console 102 or the control device 120′. Inanother example, the 1-Wire device 267 may be a 1-Wire sensor, such as atemperature, current, or voltage sensor. The 1-Wire device 267 may alsobe a 1-Wire time counter or a 1-Wire battery monitor.

Additionally, some components of the first and second dongles 160, 170shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be omitted. For example, in FIGS. 4 and 5 ,the first and second dongles 160, 170 include an RGB LED Indicator 296.However, in other examples, the first and second dongles 160, 170 mayomit the RGB LED Indicator 296. Similarly, in some examples of the firstand second dongles 160, 170, the memory 266 or the 1-Wire device 267 maybe omitted. As another example, the UART/I²C/CAN bus 269 or the 1-Wirebus 268 may be omitted.

The microcontroller 293 of the first and second dongles 160, 170 isconfigured to control, manage or otherwise execute any of theaforementioned capabilities of the first and second dongles 160, 170.For example, such capabilities include, but are not limited to, pairingusing the RF reader 204, connector identification using the connectoridentifier 262, bus communication adaptation using the adaptiveconnector 264, control signal transmission using the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252, operation of the indicator 296,retrieval and saving of data from the memory 266 or the 1-Wire device267 (in instances where the 1-Wire device 267 is a 1-Wire memory), orany other operation triggered by the host device (surgical console 102,control device 120′), and the like.

A method of operating the surgical system 100 is shown in FIG. 6 . Asshown, the method includes a step 402 of establishing the thresholdproximity between the passive RF device 254 of the dongle 130 and the RFreader 204 of the control device 120 or a step 402′ of establishing thethreshold proximity between the passive RF device 254 of the firstdongle 160 and the RF reader 204 of the second dongle 170; a step 404 ofreceiving the pairing information from the passive RF device 254; a step406 of physically coupling the dongle 130 to the dongle connection port140 of the surgical console 102 or a step 406′ of physically couplingthe first dongle 160 and the second dongle 170 to the dongle connectionport 140 of the surgical console 102 and to the dongle connection port180 of the control device 120′; a step 408 of establishing a wirelessconnection between the first communication device 202 and the secondcommunication device 252 based on the pairing information; and a step410 of remotely and wirelessly controlling the surgical device 110 usingthe wireless connection.

In the single-dongle example, the method includes step 402. During step402, the threshold proximity is established between the passive RFdevice 254 of the dongle 130 and the RF reader 204 of the control device120. In the double-dongle example, the method includes step 402′. Duringstep 402′, the threshold proximity is established between the passive RFdevice 254 of the first dongle 160 and the RF reader 204 of the seconddongle 170.

In both the single-dongle and the double-dongle examples, the thresholdproximity may be defined as a distance between the passive RF device 254and the RF reader 204 that allows the RF reader 204 to receive thepairing information from the passive RF device 254. As previouslystated, the passive RF device 254 may be configured to transmit thepairing information using RF signals with a variety of frequencies,which may affect a read range of the RF signals. For example, where thepairing information is transmitted using RF signals with a lowerfrequency, and thus a longer wavelength, the RF signals have a largerread range, allowing for a greater threshold proximity. Therefore, thethreshold proximity may vary according to the frequency of the RFsignals. For example, the threshold proximity may be on an order ofcentimeters or inches. In other examples, the threshold proximity may beon an order of feet or meters. In still other examples, the thresholdproximity may be greater than 50 feet. In yet another example, thresholdproximity may require a proximity “tapping” between devices that includethe passive RF device 254 and the RF reader 204.

In one example, the control device 120 may be disposed in a sterilefield and the surgical console 102 may be disposed in a non-sterilefield. In such an example, step 402 may include a step of moving thedongle 130 into the sterile field to establish the threshold proximitybetween the passive RF device 254 of the dongle 130 and the RF reader204 of the control device 120, or a step of moving the control device120 into the non-sterile field to establish the threshold proximitybetween the passive RF device 254 of the dongle 130 and the RF reader204 of the control device 120. Similarly, in another example, thecontrol device 120′ may be disposed in a sterile field and the surgicalconsole 102 may be disposed in a non-sterile field. In such an example,step 402 may include a step of moving the first or second dongle 160,170 into the sterile or non-sterile field to establish a thresholdproximity between the passive RF device 254 of the first dongle 160 andthe RF reader 204 of the second dongle 170.

Furthermore, in the previously described examples where the passive RFdevice 254 is powered by RF signals from the RF reader 204, the passiveRF device 254 is powered during step 402. However, it has beencontemplated that the passive RF device 254 may be replaced with an RFdevice which may be powered internally, such as a battery-assisted RFtag or an active RF tag. In such examples, the battery-assisted RF tagor the active RF tag may be powered prior to step 402.

After the threshold proximity is established between the passive RFdevice 254 and the RF reader 204, the passive RF device 254 transmitsthe pairing information to the RF reader 204 during step 404. In thesingle-dongle example, the passive RF device 254 of the dongle 130transmits pairing information to the RF reader 204 of the control device120. In the double-dongle example, the passive RF device 254 of thefirst dongle 160 transmits pairing information to the RF reader 204 ofthe second dongle 170.

During step 408, the wireless connection is established between thefirst and second communication devices 202, 252 based on the pairinginformation received from the passive RF device 254. In thesingle-dongle example, the wireless connection is established betweenthe first communication device 202 of the control device 120 and thesecond communication device 252 of the dongle 130. In the double-dongleexample, the wireless connection is established between the firstcommunication device 202 of the second dongle 170 and the secondcommunication device 252 of the first dongle 160.

In some examples, the method shown in FIG. 6 may include a step ofencrypting the pairing information and a step 414 of decrypting thepairing information. In the single-dongle example, the dongle 130, whichincludes the passive RF device 254, may encrypt the pairing information;and the control device 120, which includes the RF reader 204, maydecrypt the pairing information during step 414. In the double-dongleexample, the first dongle 160, which includes the passive RF device 254,may encrypt the pairing information; and the second dongle 170, whichincludes the RF reader 204, may decrypt the pairing information.

It should be noted that encryption of the pairing information may occurat any time prior to step 404, when the pairing information istransmitted. For example, the pairing information may be encrypted at atime of manufacture of the passive RF device 254. In another example,the pairing information may be encrypted after the passive RF device 254is powered. For instance, the pairing information may be encrypted afterthe passive RF device 254 is powered by RF signals from the RF reader204 during step 402.

Furthermore, step 414 may occur at any time after step 404, the step ofreceiving the pairing information from the passive RF device 254, andprior to step 408, the step of establishing a wireless connectionbetween the first and second communication devices 202, 252. Otherwisestated, the step 414 of decrypting the pairing information with the RFreader 204 may occur after the pairing information is received by the RFreader 204 during step 404, but before establishing the wirelessconnection between the first and second communication devices 202, 252based on the pairing information during step 408.

After step 414, the method proceeds to step 406 in the single-dongleexample. During step 406, the dongle 130 is physically coupled to thedongle connection port 140 of the surgical console 102. In one exampleof step 406, the control device 120 is disposed in a sterile field andthe surgical console 102 may be disposed in a non-sterile field. In suchan example, step 406 of physically coupling the dongle 130 to the dongleconnection port 140 of the surgical console 102 may include a step ofmoving the dongle 130 into the non-sterile field.

The method proceeds to step 406′ in the double-dongle example. Duringstep 406′, the first dongle 160 and the second dongle 170 are physicallycoupled to the dongle connection ports 140, 150 of the surgical console102 and the control device 120′. In one instance of the double-dongleexample (shown in FIG. 1B), the second dongle 170 is physically coupledto the dongle connection port 180 of the control device 120′ and thefirst dongle 160 is physically coupled to the dongle connection port 140of the surgical console 102 during step 406′. In another instance of thedouble-dongle example, the second dongle 170 is physically coupled tothe dongle connection port 140 of the surgical console 102 and the firstdongle 160 is physically coupled to the dongle connection port 180 ofthe control device 120′ during step 406′.

It should be noted that, in FIG. 6 , steps 406, 406′ are illustrated asoccurring prior to step 408. However, steps 406, 406′ may occurconcurrent to or after step 408 (as well as prior to step 408). In otherwords, the wireless connection may be established between the first andsecond communication devices 202, 252 prior to the dongles 130, 160, 170being physically coupled to the surgical console 102 or the controldevice 120′ via the dongle connection ports 140, 180. This may occur inexamples where the dongles 130, 160, 170, and thus the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252, are powered internally or are poweredprior to being physically coupled to the surgical console 102 or to thecontrol device 120′. However, the dongles 130, 160, 170 and thus, thefirst and second communication devices 202, 252, may be powered by thesurgical console 102 and/or the control device 120′ via the dongleconnection ports 140, 180. In such examples, steps 406, 406′ may occurprior to step 408.

During step 410, the surgical device 110 is remotely controlled by thecontrol device 120 using the wireless connection. In some examples, step410 may include a step 416 of encrypting the control data and a step 418of decrypting the control data. In the single-dongle example, thecontrol device 120 may encrypt the control data and the dongle 130 maydecrypt the control data. In the double-dongle example, the dongle 160,170 physically coupled to the control device 120′ may encrypt thecontrol data, and the dongle 170, 160 physically coupled to the surgicalconsole 102 may decrypt the control data.

The above-described surgical systems, dongles, communication systems andmethods create a more robust surgical environment. By remotelycontrolling the surgical devices 110 using control devices 120, 120′,the control devices 120, 120′ no longer require cables and connectors,which clutter the workspace and create obstacles in surgicalenvironments.

Furthermore, the above-described systems and methods disclose a quickand user-friendly means of establishing the wireless connection betweenthe first and second communication devices 202, 252. In the system andmethods described above, the pairing information is received by the RFreader 204 by simply establishing the threshold proximity between the RFreader 204 and the passive RF device 254. The wireless connectionbetween the first and second communication devices 202, 252 is thenautomatically established using this pairing information. Byautomatically establishing the wireless connection, the systems andmethods discussed herein do not require a user to manually provide thepairing information to the first and second communication devices 202,252. As such, the wireless connection between the first and secondcommunication devices 202, 252 is established in a quick anduser-friendly way, minimizing errors from users.

Additionally, the systems and methods disclosed herein simplifyinventory management of the components of the surgical system 100. Aspreviously described, any dongle 130 may be wirelessly connected to anycontrol device 120 and any first dongle 160 may be wirelessly connectedto any second dongle 170. Therefore, from an inventory managementperspective, dongles 130 need not be paired with a specific controldevice 120 and first dongles 160 need not be specifically paired to asecond dongle 170. Furthermore, the dongles 130, 160, 170 maycommunicate with a variety of surgical consoles 102 due to the connectoridentifier 262 and the adaptive connector 264 of the dongles 130, 160,170. Therefore, from an inventory management perspective, the dongles130, 160, 170 need not be paired with specific surgical consoles 102. Inthis way, dongles 130, 160, 170 are easily replaced and inventories ofthe dongles 130, 160, 170 are easily managed.

It will be further appreciated that the terms “include,” “includes,” and“including” have the same meaning as the terms “comprise,” “comprises,”and “comprising.”

Several examples have been discussed in the foregoing description.However, the examples discussed herein are not intended to be exhaustiveor limit the disclosure to any particular form. The terminology whichhas been used is intended to be in the nature of words of descriptionrather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations arepossible in light of the above teachings and the disclosure may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically described.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A surgical system comprising: a surgicalconsole configured to operate a surgical device and comprising aconnection port; a control device configured to communicate with thesurgical console to remotely control the surgical device and comprisinga first communication device and a radio frequency (RF) reader; a dongleconfigured to physically couple to the connection port of the surgicalconsole and comprising a second communication device and a passive RFdevice, wherein the dongle is configured to be powered through theconnection port of the surgical console; wherein the RF reader of thecontrol device is configured to receive pairing information from thepassive RF device of the dongle in response to the passive RF devicebeing within a threshold proximity of the RF reader; and wherein thefirst and second communication devices are configured to wirelesslyconnect based on the pairing information to thereby enable the controldevice to wirelessly communicate with the surgical console to remotelycontrol the surgical device.
 2. The surgical system of claim 1, wherein,absent the dongle, the connection port of the surgical console isconfigured to receive a connector of a cable for coupling to the controldevice.
 3. The surgical system of claim 1, wherein the first and secondcommunication devices are configured to wirelessly connect based on thepairing information in response to the dongle being physically coupledto the connection port of the surgical console.
 4. The surgical systemof claim 1, wherein the pairing information comprises at least a uniqueidentification of the dongle and communication parameters associatedwith the dongle.
 5. The surgical system of claim 1, wherein the dongleis configured to encrypt the pairing information and the control deviceis configured to decrypt the pairing information.
 6. The surgical systemof claim 1, wherein the first communication device is configured totransmit control data to the second communication device such that thecontrol device remotely controls the surgical device using the controldata, and wherein the control device is configured to encrypt thecontrol data and the dongle is configured to decrypt the control data.7. The surgical system of claim 1, wherein the control device comprisesa housing and wherein the first communication device and RF reader areintegrated within the housing.
 8. The surgical system of claim 1,wherein the RF reader and the passive RF device are configured tooperate on a frequency defined between 30 kHz and 30 MHz, 400 MHz and450 MHz, or 860 MHz and 960 MHz.
 9. The surgical system of claim 1,wherein the first and second communication devices are configured tooperate on a frequency greater than 1 GHz.
 10. The surgical system ofclaim 1, wherein the dongle comprises a connector identifier and anadaptive connector, and wherein the connector identifier is configuredto determine a type of communication protocol used by the surgicalconsole to receive and transmit data and the adaptive connector isconfigured to communicate with the surgical console based on the type ofthe communication protocol used by the surgical console.
 11. A method ofoperating a surgical system, the surgical system comprising a surgicalconsole configured to operate a surgical device and comprising aconnection port, a control device configured to communicate with thesurgical console to remotely control the surgical device and comprisinga first communication device and a radio frequency (RF) reader, and adongle comprising a second communication device and a passive RF device,the method including steps of: establishing a threshold proximitybetween the passive RF device of the dongle and the RF reader of thecontrol device, wherein the control device is disposed in a sterilefield and wherein the step of establishing the threshold proximitybetween the passive RF device of the dongle and the RF reader of thecontrol device comprises a step of moving the dongle into the sterilefield, and wherein the control device is further defined as at least oneof a foot-operable control device, a hand-operable control device, and amobile computing device; receiving, with the RF reader of the controldevice, pairing information from the passive RF device of the dongle inresponse to the passive RF device and the RF reader being within thethreshold proximity; physically coupling the dongle to the connectionport of the surgical console; establishing a wireless connection betweenthe first and second communication devices based on the pairinginformation; and remotely and wirelessly controlling the surgical devicewith the control device using the wireless connection.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the dongle comprises no internal power supply andwherein the method further comprises a step of powering the donglethrough the connection port.
 13. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising steps of: encrypting the pairing information with the dongle;and decrypting the pairing information with the control device.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the step of remotely and wirelesscontrolling the surgical device further comprises a step oftransmitting, with the control device, control data to the surgicalconsole via the first communication device and wherein the methodfurther comprises steps of: encrypting the control data with the controldevice; and decrypting the control data with the dongle.
 15. The methodof claim 11, wherein the surgical console is disposed in a non-sterilefield, and wherein the method further comprises a step of moving thedongle into the non-sterile field to physically couple the dongle to theconnection port of the surgical console.
 16. The method of claim 11,wherein the step of receiving pairing information from the passive RFdevice occurs at a frequency between 30 kHz to 30 MHz.
 17. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the step of receiving pairing information from thepassive RF device occurs at a frequency between 300 MHz to 1 GHz. 18.The method of claim 11, wherein the step of establishing the wirelessconnection between the first and second communication devices occurs ata frequency greater than 300 MHz.
 19. The method of claim 11, whereinthe control device is further defined as a foot-operable control device.20. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless connection isestablished between the first and second communication devices based onthe pairing information in response to the dongle being physicallycoupled to the connection port of the surgical console.
 21. A surgicalsystem comprising: a surgical console configured to operate a surgicaldevice and comprising a connection port; a control device configured tocommunicate with the surgical console to remotely control the surgicaldevice and comprising a connection port; a first dongle comprising afirst communication device and a passive radio frequency (RF) device; asecond dongle comprising a second communication device and an RF reader;one of the first and second dongles being configured to physicallycouple to the connection port of the surgical console and the other oneof the first and second dongles being configured to physically couple tothe connection port of the control device; wherein the RF reader of thesecond dongle is configured to receive pairing information from thepassive RF device of the first dongle in response to the RF reader andthe passive RF device being within a threshold proximity to one another;and wherein the first and second communication devices are configured towirelessly connect based on the pairing information to thereby enablethe control device to wirelessly communicate with the surgical consoleto remotely control the surgical device.
 22. The surgical system ofclaim 21, wherein the first dongle is configured to be powered throughthe connection port of the surgical console.
 23. The surgical system ofclaim 1, wherein the control device is further defined as afoot-operable control device.
 24. The surgical system of claim 21,wherein the control device is further defined as a foot-operable controldevice.
 25. The surgical system of claim 21, wherein the first andsecond communication devices are configured to wirelessly connect basedon the pairing information in response to the dongle being physicallycoupled to the connection port of the surgical console.